CHICAGO ― Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cast the election as a fight against “oligarchs” and the “billionaire class” in a speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday that alternated between celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris’ bread-and-butter accomplishments and forcefully reiterating a case for social democracy.
He began by reminding the audience of the dire straits the country was in when President Joe Biden and Harris took office, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying economic downturn.
Sanders then described how the Biden-Harris administration sent out $1,400 stimulus payments, temporarily expanded unemployment insurance and Medicaid coverage and slashed child poverty with an expanded child tax credit.
“Now, I say all of this not to relive that difficult moment, but to make one simple point: When the political will is there, government can effectively deliver for the people of our country,” he said. “And now we need to summon that will again — because too many of our fellow Americans are struggling every day to just get by — to put food on the table, to pay the rent, and to get the health care they need.”
From there, Sanders launched into a condensed version of the stump speech he has been delivering since he first ran for president in 2015.
“Brothers and sisters, bottom-line: We need an economy that works for all of us, not just the billionaire class,” Sanders said.
“When 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck, the top 1% have never, ever had it so good,” the Vermont senator added. “And these oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t tax the rich; the oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t take on price gouging; we shouldn’t expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision; and we shouldn’t increase Social Security benefits for struggling seniors.
“Well, I’ve got some bad news for them,” Sanders concluded, drawing out the word “bad.” “That is precisely what we are going to do!”
Sanders denied that any of those ideas are “radical,” unlike Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, which promises to cut taxes, slash the safety net, and deregulate environmental protections.
Sanders’ unapologetically populist comments nonetheless stood out on Tuesday night – not least because he was followed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who cracked a joke about being a “real billionaire,” and former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, who touted Harris’ business-friendly policies.
Sanders even got in a jab at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other super PACs, whose largesse has ousted two of Sanders’ progressive House allies this cycle alone.
“Billionaires in both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primary elections,” he said.
Like fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York the previous night, Sanders also nodded briefly to the carnage of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a topic that has spurred the greatest rifts between the party’s activist left and the establishment.
“We must end this horrific war in Gaza, bring home the hostages, and demand an immediate ceasefire!” Sanders said, pointing emphatically, near the end of his remarks.
The crowd responded by giving him one of the loudest rounds of applause of his entire speech.
